Underground speakeasy Pépé le Moko was known for carefully crafted old-school cocktails.

Credit: Dina Avila

Portland’s Signature Cocktails

Sip your way through some of the city’s most celebrated drinks.

Updated Apr. 24, 2023 3 min read

Nathan Tucker

As if a world-renowned restaurant scene weren’t enough, Portland has become one of America’s most vibrant cocktail destinations, drawing top-tier mixologists from around the country. The city’s exploding cocktail scene has roots in the same thinking that has made its food outstanding: Use the highest quality ingredients, prepared with perfect technique and artful presentation.

Bye and Bye’s Bye and Bye

Nothing says “Portland in summer” quite like a mason jar filled to the brim with this Northeast Alberta Street haunt’s eponymous mixture of peach-flavored bourbon and vodka, cranberry juice, lemon juice and soda. It’s a refreshing cocktail that, like the Bye and Bye, typifies much of Portland’s drinking culture: Fun, affordable and greater than the sum of its parts.

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Expatriate’s Pony

Naomi Pomeroy and her mixologist husband, Kyle Linden Webster, opened the chic cocktail lounge Expatriate in 2013. In the years since, they’ve showcased a variety of eclectic cocktails — the Pony is one you won’t want to miss. Bombay Dry Gin is blended with three storied amari and finished with Bittermens Transatlantic Modern Aromatic Bitters. The resulting concoction is strikingly balanced and deeply layered.

Hale Pele’s Volcano Bowl

A good tiki bar embraces over-the-top, sugary kitsch in the decor but not in the drinks, making the Volcano Bowl at tropical oasis Hale Pele the perfect tiki cocktail. While you might feel a little silly sipping from an enormous flaming group drink with friends (or a cute date), the balanced concoction of grapefruit, lime, aged rum and allspice — adapted from an original recipe by none other than the grandfather of tiki himself, Donn Beach — will ensure you don’t care.

Portland has become one of America’s most vibrant cocktail destinations, drawing top-tier mixologists from around the country.

Huber’s Cafe’s Spanish Coffee

Downtown establishment Huber’s Cafe is Portland’s oldest restaurant and bar, and ordering the signature Spanish coffee will afford you some old-world flair. Expect a theatrical table-side preparation in which overproof rum and triple sec are set aflame before Kahlúa, coffee and cream are added. The drink and its presentation have become so popular that Huber’s has claimed to order more Kahlúa than any other independent restaurant in the country.

Rum Club’s Rum Club Daiquiri

A bar that advertises a love of rum in its name must serve a daiquiri capable of converting the Caribbean sugarcane liquor’s skeptics. Fortunately, Rum Club delivers. A variation on the classic Hemingway daiquiri — twice the booze and less sugar, but with maraschino liqueur — Rum Club’s version ties the drink together with Angostura bitters and a few drops of absinthe.

James Beard Award-Winning Chefs

With such a highly praised and delicious food scene, it comes as no surprise that Portland chefs have racked up a few James Beard Awards over the years.

Driftwood Room’s Elizabeth Taylor

The wood paneling and mid-century decor at Hotel deLuxe’s old-school bar might seem most appropriate for sipping a martini or a Manhattan, but don’t pass over the specialty Champagne cocktails at the Driftwood Room. The most eye-catching on the list is the delicate Elizabeth Taylor, which features crème de violette, a deep purple liqueur made with violet flowers.

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The Garrison’s Old Fashioned

Tucked away in North Portland’s historic St. Johns neighborhood, The Garrison specializes in local brews and craft cocktails. Their house specialties are inventive and excellent, but sometimes you just want a classic — try their old fashioned if you find yourself in such a mood. Its timeless blend of bourbon, bitters and a touch of sugar is sure to satisfy.

Teardrop Lounge’s Bartender’s Choice

Known for launching the careers of some of the city’s best bartenders and a vast menu covering classic drinks, house creations and recipes borrowed from friends throughout the country, you just can’t get a bad drink at the Pearl District’s Teardrop Lounge. Grab a seat at the round bar, leave your fate in the hands of your bartender and take in the show.

Craft Spirits, Food